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Therefore Choose Courage

Lest We Forget<br>Canadians of Conscience
Lest we forget7.jpg
 

Beryl P. Wajsman

11 November 2006


 

“This story shall the good man teach his son;

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

This day shall gentle the condition;

And they shall think themselves accursed,
who were not here,

To fight with us upon Saint Crispin's day.”

~ Henry V

 

http://www.iapm.ca/media/tributetosoldiers.wmv

These pictures of Remembrance Day ceremonies last year at Camp Julien in Afghanistan were taken by
Robert J. Galbraith one of the world’s pre-eminent war photojournalists. More importantly he is our friend.
He has time and again put himself in harms’ way to demonstrate to us at home the courage, character
and conscience of Canada’s fighting men and women and the importance of their participation in missions
for the free world. He is the author of “Iraq: Eyewitness to War ” and we urge you to visit his website at
www.robertgalbraith.com to learn more about this extraordinary man and his  work.

 

“The condition upon which man hath received liberty is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break,
servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and
the punishment of his guilt.”
~ John Philpot Curran

 

On this day of remembrance, as we pay tribute to the ultimate sacrifice for freedom paid by so many, we need to reflect on what that sacrifice was for. When Sir Wilfrid Laurier said that “This nation answers to a higher destiny,” that destiny – and our maturity – was not forged from the compromises of public trust bred behind the closed doors of government committees and corporate boardrooms. Nor by the prejudices of social orthodoxy that dominate polls and focus groups that seek to dictate the common weal.

 

This nation, conceived in economic enterprise by European monarchs of centuries past, came to maturity, and kept its rendez-vous with destiny, overwhelming the bloody trenches of Vimy Ridge; scaling the harrowing cliffs of Dieppe; conquering the sands of Normandy; commanding the stormy seas of the Atlantic; suffering the bitter winters of Korea; and surviving the scorching sun of the Sinai. And too, demonstrating our courage and conscience in the corpse filled jungles of Rwanda and on the muddied fields of the Balkans.

 

Our best progress as a people has always been realized when we shouldered our fair share of the burden in mankind’s continuing quests to realize its transcendent yearnings for redemptive change. It has always been a struggle, tempered by service and sacrifice, to assure the survival and success of liberty. Our proudest boast was that we were ready to meet the challenges of the open sea and were not content to rest smugly at harbor. If we fail to recognize those challenges from abroad today we will inevitably face the consequences of that failure at home.

 

On this, and every other day, we must pledge to keep faith with those who now lay “…row on row where poppies grow…” and never allow their proud legacy of victory over tyranny, symbolized in this days of drums, to be compromised by the abandonment of national will so cavalierly and so often rationalized in our public discourse today by the low limitations of moral relativism and political equivalency.

 

Edmund Burke’s admonition that “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” is as true today as when he wrote these immortal words so long ago. It has been said that as each new day dawns we always have two choices. We can live from fear or we can live from courage. Therefore, choose courage. For our courage can truly change the world, and redeem our lives.

 

A PITTANCE OF TIME

 

 Terry Kelly
(Please take two minutes and listen to the link below.)

 http://www.terry-kelly.com/pittance.htm

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA system asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembrance was commendable. When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's
clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into this beautiful song called "A Pittance of Time".


INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF MONTREAL

INSTITUT DES AFFAIRES PUBLIQUES DE MONTRÉAL

1470 rue Peel, édifice Hermés, tour B, bureau 210, Montréal, Qc, H3A 1T1

 

 

Support our Troops

montreal alliance” holds
"RED FRIDAY” RALLY

Place du Canada Park

Peel and Rene-Levesque

(south side)

Friday November 3rd,
1PM-2PM

Bring your Canadian flags, wear red and/or yellow
For more information email
montrealalliance@gmail.com


“You don’t die for your God; you don’t die for your Queen;
you don’t die for your country:
you die for your friends.”

~ General Lewis MacKenzie

 


Photo courtesy of Robert Galbraith
www.robertgalbraith.com

 

 

Dear friends,

 

Last Saturday Montreal  witnessed another march in support of the enemies of freedom. Though perhaps not as large - nor led by as many public figures - as the Hezbollah demonstration of Aug.6th, the aim of the march and of its participants was just as egregious.

They claimed that their aim was peace in Afghanistan. They claimed that they just wanted to bring our fighting men and women home. In reality those who witnessed the rally were confronted not just with messages of troop withdrawal but with messages of hate for our military.  "Support the Resistance in Afghanistan" and "9/11 was an inside job" are just some examples of the kind of  messages that were seen at this rally for "peace".

 

Several Montreal university students have formed a group to counter the effects of these defeatists and appeasers. They call themselves the "Montreal Alliance."  You may have heard their organizer David Zand on my radio program.  They want to
send a message that there are many in this city who stand with our troops and support them in their endeavours.
They held a small counter-rally last Saturday and the Institute was proud to give whatever moral and material help it could. This week the Alliance plans to hold a rally of conscience similar to the "Red Friday" rallies in support of our Forces that are held across the country. It is to our city's shame that we have had no "Red Fridays" herre.

 

We urge you to come and show your resolve. Let us show Canada that Montrealers understand the need to "Stand with the Free". Wear some article of red clothing and bring a Canadian flag if you have one.

 

Come for any part of the hour that you can spare. Come for your country.Come for your dignity as a member of the family of free peoples. More than anything, come for the best and bravest of our young people who are manning the ramparts of freedom.

And remember to be of stout heart. Despite the passing fancies of political correctness what is just and right and decent is eternal.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words of so long ago have been a clarion call through generations and the only sure test of our resolve.
”One person – resolute – abiding by the truth shall rally a majority.”

~BPW

 



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